Rep. Chu Statement on Omnibus Spending Bill

Today, Rep. Judy Chu (CA-27) voted against the $1.1 trillion omnibus spending bill. The bill, which would fund much of the government through 2015, also included a number of unrelated “riders.” One of these would repeal a crucial provision of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act which requires Wall Street banks insured by the government to independently fund their riskiest derivative trading so tax payers are not left accountable. And another would increase the cap from $32,400 to $324,000 on individual campaign contributions. Rep. Chu released the following statement:

“I was hoping to vote for an imperfect but necessary funding bill today. Instead, Republicans gave us a bill that went beyond funding the government to hurt taxpayers and weaken the integrity of our elections. Both of these provisions are unacceptable and have been presented to us at the point of a fiscal gun without any Congressional hearings or debate.

“The Dodd-Frank law was passed to prevent the kind of risky trades that led to the historic economic collapse in 2008. This provision, written by Wall Street lobbyists, would roll back crucial protections and allow banks to use risky bets at taxpayer expense. We cannot subsidize Wall Street profits.

“I am also very opposed to the incredible ten-fold increase in the amount an individual can contribute to a campaign. Our elections are predicated on the democratic value that all Americans have an equal say. This bill further weakens our campaign finance laws and allows the wealthiest to have an even greater voice in our elections, at the expense of every-day citizens. These dramatic changes to our laws have no place in a temporary funding bill. I urge my Republican colleagues to present a clean spending bill to keep the government open and allow the legislative process to work as it should for more serious bills that will have a substantial impact on our country.”